Molding a Hokage
by From The Real World And Back
Summary: Proceeding the Uchiha massacre Itachi takes Naruto from Konoha as his last mission.With Jiraiya of the Sannin he will raise and train him.Five years later Naruto returns home with the dream of Hokage.But with big dreams comes bigger enemy's can he make it


Disclaimer – I do not known Naruto or any of the character's in this story...unless their OC's.

This story may grow to be rated M in the future, The Naruto/Sakura relations wont happen for a while yet...i wont elaborate anymore on that.

This is an AU so if you see changed to the original plot this is why.

I took this down and made some correction's to the story. This is about as clean It will be without a beta reader...Which I'm currently looking for.

I am currently holding ever Naru/Sasuke Fan-fiction ever made hostage and if I don't get the rights to Naruto by tomorrow ill erase their existence from this world...in fact I think I'll do it anyway.'BURN!'

' Thinking '

"Talking"

Jutsu (Technique)

* * *

><p>Chapter One: How It All Began<p>

(Hokage's Office - Konohagakure No Sato - Midnight)

In the office of the Hokage stood a legendary man Hiruzen Sarutobi. A shinobi who in his prime was known as "The God Shinobi." An epitaph that was shared only once before and that was with the creator of the Ninja arts himself "The Sage of the Six Paths." But even the mightiest fall to age and at Sixty four years of age he was slipping.

But despite that he was still the strongest ninja that was currently in the village and rightfully the Hokage. To his right stood his old rival for the position of Hokage, Danzo Shimura a man who was what most would consider the epitome of shinobi...if he was well known. He was the commander and creator of Konoha's Root Anbu a special branch of ninja who took order's only from Danzo. They where the necessary evil of Konohagakure, but you don't get to the top without stepping on toes.

In front of them stood four of Danzo's best Root and two of Hiruzen's most promising Anbu ready to receive their orders. One of whom was, one of the greatest prodigy's to ever grace Konoha and the greatest since the Yondaime Hokage. A boy who Hiruzen would have liked to pass the title of Hokage to, had fate not intervened his name Itachi Uchiha. Beside him was his fellow Anbu Tenzo a man who years ago gained the ability of the Shodai Hokage Mokuton(Wood Release), though not through any means of his own.

'Orochimaru' the name that caused many conflicted emotions within the Sandaime Hokage. Hiruzen's treacherous pupil had once been a great and loyal ninja so great he was a candidate for the seat of Fourth Hokage. A man who probably would have been, if not for the rapid rise of the now deceased Minato Namikaze, star pupil of Jiraiya of the Sannin Orochimaru's teammate.

Soon after Minato's death Orochimaru was discovered doing illegal research and experimentation to resurrect the Shodai Hokage's coveted ability Mokuton. Along with things of a more sinister nature. In doing so he killed more then one hundred children with only one partial success before he was discovered, causing him to flee Konoha. Now his student a man he once saw as a son was marked as his villages most wanted traitor. Hiruzen sighed, that was the start of a series of unfortunate events that plagued Konoha.

Six years ago the Kyūbi no Yōko escaped from its prison, Kushina Uzumaki during the birthing of her son Naruto. This caused Konoha great damage taking the lives of many civilian's and shinobi, along with both Kushina and Minato Namikaze. Who before their death's worked together to seal the fox demon into their hour old son Naruto.

After announcing the defeat and re-sealing of the Kyūbi at the hands of Minato Namikaze. Hiruzen outlawing speaking of it under pane of death, many of Konoha civilians and the majority of its shinobi chose to try to forget and the worst they did was ignore the child. But their where the few that had to be made examples of and recently, two of his own Chunin who had lost their families to the attack, tried to assassinate the five year old boy only to be cut down by his Anbu guard.

Then barely a year ago an ambassador the head ninja of Kumogakure came to Konoha bearing a treaty for peace. But the night before the signing he attempted to kidnap the Hyūga heiress, no doubt a ploy to breed the Byakugan into Kumogakure. This attempt failed spectacularly as the Hyūga clan head Hiashi killed the man in the attempt. Then Kumo demanded that Konoha pay for the loss of their Head Ninja,demanding the life of the man who killed him. A man who is the head of one of Konoha's most powerful clans and for protecting his own daughter.

Hiruzen had no doubt that it was the Yondaime Raikage A who instigated this, his father the Sandaime tried to do the same thing with Kushina Uzumaki during the Third Great Shinobi War. So Hiruzen spoke to the Fire Daimyō who then spoke to the Lightning Daimyō and told him in no uncertain terms that such things would not be forgiven and the greatest of the Five Nations would go to war if necessary.

Which was the perfect move, Konoha may be weakened at the moment but there is a reason it's hailed as the greatest of the Five Nations. After winning all three Great war's the Lightning Daimyō was plenty weary and spoke to the Raikage resulting in no action and no loss. So are the benefits of being held as the strongest.

Now by far one of the worst thing's that could possibly happen is happening. The Uchiha who are currently Konoha's strongest clan. And where one of the two founding clan's of Konoha alongside the Senju, are planning a coup spearheaded by their leader Fugaku.'such idiocy' Hiruzen thought to himself. 'as if we wouldn't find out' He put a halt to his memories as a silence descended upon the room.

"I have brought you all here tonight to undertake a S rank mission that is necessary to keep Konoha out of civil war. We cannot afford such a thing, unlike Kirigakure who has the luxury of an ocean separating them from their enemies...our potential enemies surround us"

"Itachi here" Hiruzen said motioning to the Shinobi wearing a weasel mask. "has discovered a plot within Konoha by none other then the Uchiha clan to kill me, usurp Konoha's leadership and place their clan head Fugaku as Godaime Hokage."

"Talks of peace have failed and because Fugaku has the backing of almost the entire Uchiha clan save Itachi and a few of then remaining older generation we have only one choice and that is to purge Konoha of them."Hiruzen sighed now sitting behind his desk and taking a long draw from pipe."Your mission"He said motioning to the Two Anbu and Four Root. "is to kill the Uchiha clan,the only survivor of this night per request of Itachi will be Sasuke Uchiha."

"You four of Konoha's Root will eliminate all of the patrolling military police using methods that will only trace back to Itachi. While Itachi and Tenzo, you will eliminate the threat from the inside. You must use standard assassination methods no distinguishing Jutsu nothing that can be traced back to anyone other then Itachi who will unfortunately be the scape goat for this operation."

"All standard Anbu patrol's of the area have been given out of village assignments and have not been replaced for this night. So there will be no pursuit, if all goes as planned no one will know that this happened until morning. After the threat is eliminated Itachi will activate his secondary objective as his final mission for Konoha may Kami be with you, dismissed!" He said.

Six shinobi exited the Hokage tower via Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) to their assigned location. Hiruzen turned his weary face to his old friend Danzo who spoke up.

"You did the right thing Hiruzen,it was not the easy way but it was the best for the good of Konoha. You must not doubt yourself!" Danzo spoke with conviction as he slammed his cane into the ground."Go home Sarutobi and remember that though tonight may be bloody Konoha's will of fire will not burn out" Danzo said before turning and leaving the room.

Hiruzen then took one final draw of his pipe and exited for the night,'for all of this bad one good thing has come of it'. He thought to himself as he exited his office.'Tonight will be the end of Konoha's strongest clan,but hopefully it will be the start of Konoha's greatest Hokage'.

XxX

(Konoha Twelve Hours Earlier)

Six year old Naruto Uzumaki stepped or rather bounced into the Hokage's office,he was a very energetic boy with short spiky blond hair and crystal blue eyes. But his most noticeable feature where three whisker like marks on each of his tan cheek's. He was escorted by one of his constant companions "Weasel kun" as he affectionately called him.

Who was one of four Anbu who where currently assigned for his protection along with Dog,Snake and Tiger but among them he was the one Naruto knew best. Hiruzen discretely pressed a button under his desk activating a privacy seal keeping any sound from leaving the office then signaling his hidden Anbu within the room to leave.

"How are you today Naruto kun" Hiruzen asked in a kind voice.

Naruto beamed a smile and in a exited voice said "I've been doing great Jiji,Weasel kun was helping me with my homework and then he helped me with my Kunai and Shuriken throwing then we played ninja... but i lost"he ended with a little pout. It had been two short months since Naruto joined the Ninja academy and even though he only had made one friend there he liked it a lot.

Hiruzen chuckled at the boys enthusiasm."That's good Naruto kun,but today is an important day for you Naruto."Hiruzen said putting up a strong front for Naruto,it was a risky plan but Danzo convinced him. Itachi would be strong enough to protect him if he was found and Hiruzen doubted he would be well taught within the ninja academy...ashamed as he was to admit.

"Naruto tonight you are going to leave Konoha" Hiruzen held up his hand to stop Naruto's questions."I will explain Naruto just let me finish" he said before turning to weasel "Weasel take off your mask." Weasel bowed his head and took off his mask revealing a boy with jet black hair and coal black eyes. He had two distinguishing creases that went from the outside of his nose under his eyes down along his cheeks.

The boy could not have been more then thirteen and his name "Uchiha Itachi"Naruto gasped and pointed his little finger "Your Sasuke's oniisan"Itachi nodded his head at the young boy and smiled.

"I am Naruto kun,I'm glad we can finally meet face to face."Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"Me to Dattebayo!" was Naruto's enthusiastic reply,Hiruzen shook his head in amusement but continued.

"Naruto" he said gaining the boy's attention. "Tonight you will leave with Itachi kun and meet up with your godfather."Seeing the boys surprise he nodded his head in understanding "Yes Naruto you have a godfather. I'm sure that he would have loved to visit you here Naruto but he is a very busy man, he has not been in the village for more then five years. He's a ninja of extreme importance to this village and my former student. Together he and Itachi will train you to become a powerful shinobi and when they deem you ready you will return and become a shinobi of Konoha,and maybe soon after you'll have your dream of becoming Hokage."

Naruto stared wide eyed before speaking "I wont fail you Jiji, I'll train as hard as I can and become Hokage Dateebyo!" Naruto yelled with enthusiasm bringing a smile to the face's of both men present.

XxX

(Present - Uchiha Clan Compound)

Itachi tried his best to keep his emotions from overflowing as he signaled for Tenzo to circle around the opposite side of the clan grounds. They planned a pincer maneuver to start from the outside and work their way inwards. He sat a still as a statue in the shadows until he heard the signal, that where anyone else to hear they would think it was just another owl in the night.

Itachi dropped down to the ground and quickly entered the closest house, he found two targets asleep in their bed. He quickly formed a clone and then they both quickly put a hand over their targets mouth and stabbed them right through their skulls with a kunai. He and his clone left the house and entered another with an ease only an Elite could do.

The work of assassinating your clansmen in their sleep was surprisingly monotonous Itachi pondered as he once more stabbed a man in the temple. They may be his clansmen but they where going to overthrow the Hokage and bring upon the next Great Shinobi War which could result in the deaths of much more then just one clan. The only thing that really bothered him was killing the children, they where innocence in this, but those innocent children could grow up and take revenge on Konohagakure where they ever to find out the truth.

Itachi went from house to house as quickly and quietly as possible snuffing out the lives of men and women he grew up with. 'All for the good of Konohagakure' he thought to himself as he entered his own house. He crept past the living room when he heard hushed whispers coming from his parents room. He steeled himself once more as he pulled the door inward.

He watched as both is parents dressed in things not remotely battle ready whipped their heads to him. There their son covered in blood with a Kunai in each hand stared them down with red and black eye's that looked dead to the world.

His mother gasped and his father thundered "Itachi what is the meaning of this"the only response he got was for his sons fully matured Sharingan to turn into the Mangekyo Sharingan

"Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)" was Itachi's response.

Itachi watched as his father Fugaku's body was crusified in a red and black world that was all his own.

"What is the meaning of this Itachi!" he father once again shouted this time his voice far more elevated.

"You know what this is Fugaku, you where planning an uprising against the Sandaime Hokage. An uprising that would lead into the Fourth Great Shinobi War. There would have been no way a divided Konohagakure could win, even if we where not in our current weakened state."

"Itachi the Senju suppress us, they keep us locked away from the village. They treat us like leapers."

Itachi cut him off "Enough father I've heard it all before, but where were we when the Kyūbi attacked. The Sandaime made a fair decision, The Uchiha clan are the only Clan that has the potential to control the Kyūbi now that Hashirama sama is dead and that same clan was not defending Konoha when it attacked."

"So we are done talking father, we tried peace talks and you had none of it, I'm sorry but this is the end."Mikoto Uchiha watched shocked as one second her husband beside her questioned Itachi and the next he dropped to the floor dead. She let out a primal screech her Sharingan sprang to life and she went through the hand seals all Uchiha warriors knew.

But it was not to be as she saw her sons Sharingan in front of her and felt the cold bite of his steel sword pierce her heart .

"Itachi" she gasped. Reaching for him in vein as she feel to the floor expired, beside her husband to join him in the afterlife whichever it be. Itachi turned to see...his little brother, he almost hesitated as he took in Sasuke's shocked a broken expression.

"Itachi why, why did you kill mom and dad!" Sasuke screamed his world shattering around him.

Itachi summoned up a cold chuckle "It wasn't just them ototo, I killed this whole pathetic clan. Why, why you ask Sasuke. These people who flaunt the accomplishments of their forefathers but do nothing but handicap themselves by leaning so heavily on their own bloodline. They sicken me with their arrogance and ignorance but it is their weakness that sickens me the most."

Sasuke's face morphed to anger and Itachi released some of his killing intent freezing him in place. "Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life, and when you have the same eyes as mine, come to me." Itachi said allowing his eye's to once more morph into the Mangekyo "Where to get these eye's you may ask, to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan you must kill...foolish little brother. But you cant kill just anyone,no...you must kill the person closest to you the one who you hold dearest in your heart. And remember when we battle we must have the same eyes."

Itachi then walked past him out of his home and down the Uchiha district, he felt his cheek's grow wet as his tear's flowed free. He heard the sound of running behind him and turned to see Sasuke throw a kunai at him, he was so shocked he couldn't dodge as it hit forehead protector knocking it from his head to the ground and breaking the skin on his forehead. He looked at Sasuke to see his newly awakened single tomoe Sharingan glaring hatefully at him.

"Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)" Itachi spoke one last time and his brother's red and black eye's disappeared as he hit the ground unconscious.

Itachi quickly wiped his tear's and took out a sealing scroll taking off his armor and all but his most basic weapons and sealed them up. He would need to be as fast and quiet as possible for his secondary objective, he glanced back once more. 'Sasuke' he thought before he jumped on the roof and ran towards Naruto's apartment.

XxX

(Ten Hours Later)

Itachi looked down at Naruto's who was somehow able to fall asleep despite him jarring in Itachi's arms as he jumped from tree to tree. He was currently heading out of fire country into river country where he would meet Jiraiya of the Sannin (Legendary Three Nina) to help train and raise Naruto. Itachi wiped his eye's of the tears that threatened to fall.

"I have killed my heart for the good of Konoha and insured that Sasuke will end my life. But until then i must train Naruto to become Konoha's future to defend all those who would wish to harm it...since i cannot." he spoke quietly to himself and sped off into the night.

Naruto stirred from his sleep as voices penetrated the budding morning light. He sat up from his place on the forest floor to see Itachi talking to a large man with long spiky white hair held up by a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil"on it. He wore gray pants and shirt with chain mail under them,over that he wore a red happi coat and wooden geta on his feet.

"Oh the Kids finally up"he heard the man say as he and Itachi walked over to him. Naruto got to his feet still staring at the large man.

"Who are you" Naruto asked and the man smiled down at him before biting his thumb doing some quick hand seals and slamming his hand onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu"(Summoning Technique) the man yelled now standing upon a horse sized toad. He then announced loudly "I am the most holy hermit sage of the Mount Myoboku toads, the man who makes all women hot and all children stare in awe."he was now doing a series of one footed hop's across the toad "Otherwise known as the gallant Jiraiya the greatest of the Legendary three and your godfather!".

Naruto laughed "Your a funny old man Kyoufu." Jiraiya stepped forward after the toad vanished.

"Funny old man am I" he joked to himself before walking up to Naruto and holding out his hand."Nice to finally see you Naruto. And I must say you remind me of your father. Look's and dreams, he dreamed of being Hokage at your age."

Naruto used his tiny hand to shake Jiraiya's then asked "You knew my father?" Jiraiya smiled before nodding.

"Yea kid, me and him where really close. Heck I trained him, turned him into one of the finest Shinobi the leaf every saw. And your mother was a fine Kunoichi, but...we'll talk about that another time we need to get going before daylight breaks."

Naruto nodded his head reluctantly before looking around, "Where are we anyway."

Itachi stepped forward "We Naruto kun are just outside of Fire country, where going to head to land of Frost. Jiraiya has a house there and that's where we will be staying for a while. Jiraiya sama never stays in one place long, he is Konoha's spymaster and moves around constantly to gather information."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding "So where going to move a lot" the blond boy asked.

Jiraiya shook his head in negative"I wont be staying with you kids all the time, you and Itachi will be together most of the time, he'll raise and train you the most. I can only stay in one place for a couple of weeks tops, I have to keep moving to keep my spy network from falling apart. You will of course move too, but only when people begin to notice you to much. Now go on get on Itachi's back, we got to cover some more distance, my place is pretty deep in frost country."

Naruto ran over to Itachi and jumped onto his back, "So what all am i going to learn".Naruto asked. He just started the academy and they hadn't taught more then some history and the meaning of a shinobi, he wanted to learn some super awesome ninja moves Dateebyo!.

Itachi was the one to answer. "Where going to teach you plenty of different things Naruto kun much more then the academy would. You Naruto are the future of Konoha so were going to push you to become the best."Naruto nodded his head with much enthusiasm excited to become a great ninja and finally have a family.

XxX

(One Week Later)

"Are you leaving already pervy sage" the young blond asked his godfather.

"Yea sorry kid, one of my spies in Rice country picked something up I gotta check it out...and don't call me that." Naruto gave a pout he, Itachi and Jiraiya had spent the last week familiarizing themselves with their new home and each other. Now so soon after Naruto met him, his Kyoufu was leaving.

Seeing the look on Naruto's face Jiraiya raised his hands "Don't worry Naruto I'll be back in another month and I promise I'll stay longer, but I gotta go kiddo."He said grabbing his scroll and rubbing the top of Naruto's head. "Itachi will look after you,and you both get along well, I'll see you soon."

Naruto reached up to fix his hair then said "Bye Kyoufu." Jiraiya exited the house and Naruto stared at the door for a moment before he turned to Itachi who sat behind him at a table reading."Itachi nii when do we start training?"Naruto questioned.

Itachi looked up from his book "Tomorrow Naruto we'll start tomorrow."

XxX

(One Year Later Land of Frost)

Naruto's first year of training under Itachi and Jiraiya seemed to pass in the blink of the eye. Naruto learned a lot under the two legendary ninja. They started with the basics, improving his ability to read wright and even some mathematics's. Then usually Naruto would train outside to burn off built up energy, Itachi had him practice throwing Kunai and Shuriken, doing Taijitsu kata's and even playing Ninja (Which Naruto never won).

Then they would take a break before working on Shinobi history, tactics and then chakra control exercises. Naruto of course asked "When can i learn Ninjutsu" to which Itachi replied.

"Naruto you will learn Jutsu, but first you must practice your chakra control. You have an abnormally high amount of chakra, more then most Chunin I've met. Which means you'll have to practice that much harder to use the more tame Jutsu, but as you get older and learn more it will be easier for you to use the big powerful ones."

Naruto seemed to mull over the statement in his head and said "So if I don't practice chakra control I cant learn how to do the beginner Jutsu. And if I don't lean them I cant learn the bigger ones."

Itachi reached over and patted Naruto's head "That's right Naruto kun ...so I want you to use your chakra to stick this leaf to your forehead."

Then began Naruto's chakra control exercises first was the leaf sticking exercise. Which was exactly how it sounded Itachi made Naruto stick a leaf to his forehead at first and then with time more and more all over his body. Then he moved to tree climbing, using chakra to grip the tree and run up them with just your feet. This took Naruto a little while but he got it without to much trouble once he figured out he was using to much chakra. And most recently he learned water walking. Which was much harder because you had to balance the amount of chakra needed with the movements of the water.

During Naruto's first Ninjutsu lesson he and his teachers discovered something amazing, his Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) was solid, which Itachi said would aid him greatly in infiltrations. Itachi and Jiraiya contributed this to the Kyūbi, Fox's where well known for their trickery.

But the biggest thing he learned was why he was treated the way he was in Konoha,he had the Kyūbi no Yōko sealed inside of him as a baby. His father who Jiraiya told him was the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had sealed it inside of him to stop it from destroying the village.

He learned that the previous holder of the Kyūbi was his mother Kushina Uzumaki who had accidentally released it during his birth. And both of his parents had sacrificed their lives to stop it from destroying Konoha forcing them to seal it within him.

Jiraiya said he was the only person they thought would be able to tame the beast. When Naruto questioned why Jiraiya explained that he was the last of the Uzumaki Clan within Konoha. A clan that was gifted with extremely strong body energy granting them large chakra reserves and long life they also had great prowess in sealing. Also the Uzumaki had always carried the Kyūbi inside of them since the Shodai Hokage.

Who's wife Mito Uzumaki was the First Jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice) of the Kyūbi. Naruto was also the son of the Fourth Hokage who was one of the strongest ninja to ever live and the man to seal the Kyūbi only furthered the chance. Naruto took all the information in, and it was astounding but at that moment he only had one question. "How am I going to tame the Kyūbi, even if I am an Uzumaki and the son of the Yondaime I don't think I could do that."

Jiraiya sighed and signaled Itachi who pulled out an plain looking storage scroll from his pocket, laying it on the floor. Itachi then opened it revealing an eye inside of a jar. But it wasn't just any eye "Sharingan" Naruto breathed.

"Yes Naruto kun this is a Sharingan eye, I'm glad my lesson's on Konoha's bloodlines are sinking in." He said with a smirk "But this is a special eye even among the Sharingan,this is...was the eye of my now deceased teacher and best friend Shisui Uchiha. Now what makes this eye special among the other Sharingan is that it has the ability to control another persons mind and actions."

"We hope Naruto kun to replace one of your eye's with this. Now most people think only the Uchiha can use the Sharingan eye to its full extent. But Kakashi Hatake one of my Anbu senpai proved that you could use it, even evolve and adapt the eye no matter if it is your own or not. He evolved the eye of his friend Obito Uchiha from two tomoe to a fully matured Sharingan eye after he had it put inside him."

"We hope since the Uzumaki are distant relative's of the Uchiha and who also have powerful chakra like the Uchiha along with your quick natural healing. That this eye will fully accept you and with its abilities you could gain full control over the Kyūbi like Madara Uchiha did at the Valley of the end against the Shodai Hokage."Itachi said finishing his long explanation.

Naruto didn't know what to think, they wanted him to do something that Madara Uchiha the rival of the Shodai Hokage and former head of the Uchiha clan achieved. Not only that, he had to replace one of his eye's with some other persons, that's weird!.But it also showed their faith in him and he always wanted people to believe in him.

It also meant he could have a Sharingan like Itachi nee and with it he could possibly control the Kyūbi like his parents wanted. It was surprisingly, not really a hard choice he thought to himself."Ok lets do it...but who's going to put the eye in and take mine out".He questioned in a wavering voice.

Itachi had taught him that Ninja must not show their emotions in battle and be able to kill their heart when needed to fulfill their orders, but getting his eye taken was still kind of scary.

Jiraiya answered his question in a soothing tone "Don't worry Naruto I'll take you to my old teammate Tsunade, she is the best medical ninja in the elemental nations. I'm sure she will help us out...for a price"he mumbled the last bit under his breath "and it wont even leave a scar I'm sure of it."

Naruto nodded his head "Ill do it, if it will make me stronger and Konoha stronger...and ill have an awesome eye like Itachi" He said the last bit with excitement causing both men to chuckle.

XxX

(Konohagakure no Sato - Hokage Tower)

The Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, savoring the taste of fire country finest tobacco as he pondered this new proposal. He looked at the beautiful young women in front of him, Mei Terumi leader of the bloodline and bloodline sympathizer's. Her enemy the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura, a man who had declared a purge of Kirigakure bloodline's recently and named his new reign "The bloody mist."

She had come seeking Konoha's aid against his force's, asking for supplies,shelter for their families and if possible troops. Supplies for their troops and shelter Konoha could do, any temporary loss could be replaced over time with access to Kiri's shipping and fishing lanes should he ask for them. But asking for troop's he did not have he couldn't do. But she said the man Yagura was a Jinchūriki if this where true...well an assassination might prove acceptable.

"Mei san...I can offer you supplies and shelter, but recently Konoha has lost many troops and is only starting to recover. Should Kirigakure's civil war drag out with our aid regardless of a victory it would be a loss that would take more years to overcome and Iwagakure or Kumogakure would do anything for a chance at being the greatest of the Five. What I can do is make you another offer, you said Yagura was a Jinchūriki correct" the elder man asked the women.

She nodded her head "Yes that is correct Hokage dono, he is the Jinchūriki of the Three Tailed Sanbi (Giant Turtle)."

The Hokage took another draw of his pipe before speaking "Mei, I have a man in my Anbu who can restrain the power of a Jinchūriki and their Biju. If we worked together and formed a skilled squad with some of your member's do you think a assassination would be successful"He asked.

The red haired emerald eyed water goddess opened her mouth then closed it,she seemed to be in deep thought. "The reason we never tried to assassinate him before wasn't because we couldn't infiltrate his bases or find his location. Most of us are former ninja of Kirigakure and we know all of them, we where reserved because of the control of his demon. He is one of the two Jinchūriki that has been able to gain full control of their demon and that makes him a very dangerous man."

"But if you could keep him from accessing that power then the chances are high that we could kill him. Many of my troops are former Jonin of Kirigakure and I have under my command the last two of three living Swordsmen of the mist, Zabuza Momochi and Mangetsu Hozaki I am not without killed Shinobi Hokage dono."

Hiruzen nodded his head "Very well, I am not foolish enough to think that killing Yagura will stop the war but their will be internal strife over the next leader and the troops will become disheartened knowing their leader can be killed in their midst."

Mei nodded her head in agreement before speaking, "We know many of the ninja we are fighting are only doing so because they fear for their families lives. If we can kill Yagura then things should shift in our favor."

Hiruzen silently agreed with the women, he raised his hand signaling one of his Anbu to come out. Hiruzen turned to him "Bring me Anbu codename Yamato and Elder Danzo, tell them they are needed post haste."Hiruzen laced his fingers together 'Something big is coming I can feel it in my bones, but I take heart knowing that I am doing all I can to strengthen Konoha'.

XxX

(Somewhere in Frost Country)

Naruto sealed the rest of his cloth's in a storage scroll as he prepared to leave with Jiraiya. Last night he told Naruto he had learned that Tsunade was currently in the land of hot waters attending a poker tournament, and it would be their best chance to find her. "All ready to go here Kyoufu" Naruto said to Jiraiya, who was leaning against a nearby wall.

"All right kid lets head out" he said before turning to Itachi, "I don't think we'll be gone longer than two weeks...but I'm not the doctor."

Itachi gave a small nod of his head "Its no problem it would be nice to finally get some peace and quiet...I'll think of it as a vacation". He said with a small smile.

"Itachi nee no need to be so mean" Naruto pouted before walking next to Jiraiya "And next time we meet I'll have a Sharingan too" Naruto said with a large smile. Naruto and Jiraiya quickly exited the house.

"Alright kid Itachi taught you how to tree hop, so you're job is to keep up with me until I stop." Naruto groaned of course even traveling was training. "Lets go" that was all the warning Naruto got before Jiraiya took to the trees.

It took two day's to get from their house in the land of frost to the casino in the land of hot water. They traveled constantly just stopping once for lunch and another for sleep at night. So they arrived at the Casino bright and early on the third day after staying in a hotel the night before...well Naruto stayed in the hotel Jiraiya came back at eight in the morning smelling like perfume and alcohol.

"All right kiddo here's a picture of Tsunade,she shouldn't be hard to find...she sticks out." Naruto took the picture from Jiraiya and gave it a look see.

"Is this recent Kyoufu" Naruto asked, Jiraiya looked to him giving him a knowing smirk.

"Yea kid its recent, Tsunade keeps up a constant Henge(Transformation) so her looks never really change. She's my age but she's kind of vain...but don't tell her I said that."

"Like your one to talk Ero Senin" Naruto replied before looking back at the picture.

The picture was of a women that couldn't be out of her early twenties,she had blond hair tied in double pig tails with fair skin and brown eyes. She had a diamond like jewel on her forehead and a very large chest. Naruto looked up from the picture to see Jiraiya walking over to a women with short black hair holding a pig Naruto quickly caught up.

"Jiraiya sama what are you doing here" the young women asked clearly surprised.

"Where looking for Tsunade, Shizune chan can you take us to her?" Jiraiya questioned.

"We" she said before looking down upon Naruto "and who would you be" be she asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki pleased to meet you" Naruto greeted the women cheerfully.

"You too" she said with a smile "well I'll take you to her she's right over here."

Shizune led them a little further into the casino,they arrived at a table crowded with men and women alike circling it. There Tsunade sat in a green coat with the kanji for Gamble imprinted on the back within a red circle. "Tsunade sama we have guest's" Shizune informed the women, Tsunade turned in her chair.

"Jiraiya" she said her eyes flickering to Naruto at his side. "What are you doing in a place like this...and who is the boy" she questioned.

"The boy's Uzumaki Naruto and I need you to do a medical treatment for him." Her eye's widened a bit in recognition.

"I've already resigned from medical duties Jiraiya" she said in an annoyed fashion as she pushed the last of her chip's onto the table.

"Your the only person I trust with this operation Tsunade. Your the best Medical Ninja in the world. I'll even pay you Tsunade...it look's like you need it" he said with humor as she lost the rest of her chips.

"And even if I didn't pay you should do it for old times sake."

Tsunade gave an resigned sigh as she got up from her chair "Fine, but I want 30,000 Ryo...i know you have it you old pervert" causing Jiraiya to grumbled.

Naruto cheekily replied. "He's no pervert...He's a super pervert."

Tsunade cracked a smile "Yea he is" she said as they exited the building "So whats the job" Tsunade questioned.

"I'll tell you when we get to a secure location" Jiraiya replied, That caught Tsunade's attention, a medical treatment that couldn't be talked about in the open.

"I need to stop by my room" Tsunade said "And it would be best if we did whatever it is there, me and Shizune need access our equipment"

"That's fine" Jiraiya answered, they headed to a nice looking hotel and entered the suite on the top floor.

"So whats the operation" she asked, Jiraiya fished a scroll from his pocket and opened it. Both Shizune and Tsunade stopped when they saw what was in it.

"Your going to take Naruto's right eye out and replace it with this one." Jiraiya told them in a tone that brook no argument.

Tsunade and Shizune looked at Naruto who had nothing but a determined look on his face "Naruto why do you want the Sharingan" Tsunade asked.

"I need it to control the Kyūbi that dad sealed inside me. I need it so I can become the strongest Hokage and protect Konoha Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled.

Tsunade and Shizune seemed shocked, but for different reasons. "You want to be Hokage?" "The Fourth is your Father?"Tsunade shot Shizune an annoyed look making her flush and look away embarrassed.

"Why would you want to be Hokage kid its a fools job. Either you die for you village like the First,Second and Fourth or you give everything you have till your to old too care like the Sarutobi Sensei. Life is different then money it shouldn't be gambled so easy and whoever does is a fool."

Jiraiya stepped forward before an argument erupted "Tsunade we can talk about this later, lets get on with the operation" Tsunade snorted and turned around and opened a scroll revealing an assortment of medical supplies.

"Get over here Naruto and lay down on the bed" Naruto seemed reluctant to do what she said but Jiraiya pushed him forward.

Naruto laid on the bed and Shizune walked beside him "I'm going to give you a shot, its going to make you go to sleep."

"OK" was all Naruto said,he was relived he wouldn't have to be awake when his eye was removed. Naruto felt a needle get pushed into his arm and he was asleep within the minute.

XxX

(Some Hours Later)

Naruto stirred in his sleep before his eyes opened, he looked to his left and see Tsunade walking towards him and gasped. She was walking at two speeds...or that's what it looked like. One was much slower then the other. "I see it worked" Tsunade said sitting in the chair at his bedside.

"Yea this is...amazing,so this is what its like to see with a Sharingan." Naruto replied his voice laced with awe.

Tsunade snorted "If having the Sharingan was all it took to be Hokage then one of the Uchiha would have been elected." Naruto sent her a glare.

"I'm not going to become Hokage because of the Sharingan. I'm going to be Hokage because I worked harder,trained harder and gave more then anyone else!" Naruto said "This eye is just another tool that will just help me get there."

Tsunade stared at the seven year old boy who in that instant reminded her so much of her now deceased little brother Nawaki and her dead lover Dan. Her voice heavy with emotion "Why would you want to be Hokage Naruto, your father died as Hokage."

Naruto turned to her "I've been taught that all ninja die, Hokage or not and its not when you die that matters its how you die. And dying to save your village like my father sounds more amazing then doing it while lying in bed."

"And I'm going to be the Hokage so all the villager's will acknowledge me,so they will look up to me like they did my father. I'll to bring peace to the village as their leader and I'll be the strongest so no one will want to attack us Dattebayo!"

Tsunade seemed impressed with his speech but then lifted her hand and flicked his forehead with enough force to lay him back down."You haven't given me or anyone any reason to think that you could be Hokage. So I'll make a bet with you Naruto" She said getting his attention. "This necklace" she said holding the necklace she wore "Was my grandfather the Shodai Hokage's necklace and its worth is more then three mountains and the gold mines under them. If you can give me proof that your capable of being the Hokage by the time your a Jonin, I'll give you this necklace as a sign of my belief in you. But if you don't you have to give up your dreams and can never be Hokage."

Naruto sat up and gave here his always present smile "Your on grandma, forget Jonin I'll give you proof before I'm a Chunin and you'll be glad you gave me that cursed necklace." Tsunade seemed taken aback by his statement. "Kyoufu told me that you think that necklace is cursed, but I don't care I'll break that curse, there's nothing that's going to stand in the way of my dreams and survive."

Tsunade smiled once more and ruffled his hair "That's big talk for a little man, but I hope you do win this bet...and don't call me grandma" She said in afterthought then looked him in the eye "I'm glad to see the operation was a complete success." Naruto had been so caught up in his talk with her he never noticed that his eyesight had returned to normal.

"What happened to my Sharingan" he said in a slightly worried voice before Tsunade interrupted him

"Calm down squirt just add some chakra to your right eye" Naruto did as he was told and the world once again became two speed's.

"See you even have the ability to turn it on and off like the Uchiha, it wasn't to hard...for me anyway" She said boastfully.

"Whatever you say...grandma" Naruto replied with a smirk.

During the week he stayed with Tsunade and Shizune,they discovered his Sharingan like an Uchiha's had a very small chakra drain,which was more then they had dared to hope for. He enjoyed his time spent with the to medic ninja, he thought it was a nice change to have females in his life. But of course Naruto had to get back to training and Jiraiya had a spy network to run so they soon departed but not without Naruto extracting a promise to exchange letter through Jiraiya and Tsunade's summons.

XxX

The second year of training changed little overall, Naruto continued with his book learning, chakra control lessons which like Itachi said got harder as he got older and Taijitsu training. Itachi had him work his muscles more for speed instead of strength during his workouts telling him that if he inherited his father's speed then he would amazingly fast. Itachi also spoke at length about the Sharingan and its most known and unknown abilities.

By Naruto's eighth birthday he had become fully accustom to the Sharingan, passively able to copy Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. He could fight with it now, knowing to always follow the slower moving target. They even began lessons on recognizing Genjutsu and how to see through them. Because of his abilities with the Sharingan Itachi began teaching Naruto some of its more advanced techniques along with starting Naruto in the art of Kenjutsu. Itachi did not consider himself a master swordsmen but he was more then proficient from his years in Anbu.

With Jiraiya Naruto began learning the basics of Fuinjutsu, His clan was widely regarded as the best Fuinjutsu users in the world and because of this they were so much of a threat they where attacked and destroyed. Of course not all of his training was for battle,he had to learn how to speak and wright properly as well as how to address others and of course to always keep his calm in high pressure situations.

On Naruto's ninth birthday Jiraiya gave Naruto a special present, a picture of his mother and father taken while his mother was pregnant. He also had Naruto sign the toad summoning contract making him Jiraiya's official apprentice. The first time Naruto had summoned Gamabunta had been hysterical to say the least.

Naruto had also finally graduated from the paper curriculum so they added Elemental Jutsu and manipulation to his training. They had found that Naruto had a strong affinity for water, this pleased Itachi because that was his Secondary Affinity after fire and he had considered himself one of the foremost Suiton (Water Release) users in Konoha before he left.

Because of the length of time it took to train Elemental manipulation Jiraiya also taught Naruto the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) which was a Kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) of Konoha for its massive chakra requirements. But such things meant little to Naruto who by now had massive chakra reserves thanks to his constant training, Uzumaki heritage and the Kyubi.

Jiraiya had come up with a training method for the technique that could speed up his training. Because the user learns what the Kage Bunshin learns he could make clones to help him train. Jiraiya had limited him to only ten per day, saying that he did not want Naruto to damage his brain with sensory overload since at his age it was in a crucial stage of development. Naruto was also told that as he aged he would be allowed to make more and more as a training aid.

And with the Kage Bunshin coupled with his Sharingan Naruto's learning curb skyrocketed. Elemental manipulation a Chunin level skill pfffft whatever. Ninjutsu and Taijutsu techniques,please learned them yesterday. They even helped him with his ability to make hand sings which since he was given a Sharingan where already easy now...cakewalk. Haaa Kage Bunshin was a godsend, Naruto just imagined what he could do if he could use thousands...but that was sadly impossible,the damage to the brain would probably leave him loving nothing but orange clothing and dreaming of ramen noodles for the rest of his days.

Over the next two years Naruto's learning quickened with Kage Bunshin, at age eleven he was a well rounded Shinobi. Itachi commented that his battle prowess surpassed his own at the same age. He was as stealthy as a seasoned Anbu and as skilled as a well trained Root Shinobi. He was well versed in Taijutsu,Ninjitsu and Kenjutsu.

Thanks to Itachi's training he was now able to break down most Genjutsu put on him and could even reverse some of the weaker ones, unfortunately Itachi told him that he would never be more then mediocre at using Genjutsu and that he would never be able to use medical techniques. Because he said "You had to have great chakra control to be a Genjutsu master and dam near perfect to be a medical ninja of any skill."

But aside from his extremely large chakra reserves, it was his speed,stamina and work either that would set him apart from the heard when he became a Konoha shinobi. He even had plenty of battle experience once he turned ten years old Itachi and Jiraiya started taking him on mock C rank missions, hunting bandits and low ranking missing ninja that were in the area of the town's they stayed in. But even after all these years away from Konoha training he still missed his home and the Sandaime Hokage.

In this last year he had started to tap into Shisui Uchiha's ability, and discovered it worked something like a genjutsu if the person found out he or she was under they could try to cancel it. But it was very hard to do...even for someone like Itachi. And with much practice he could now control a person's mind and action's once he had eye contact with them for more then two seconds. He doubted he could use it on the Kyūbi just yet, but progress was progress and he was sure he could do it eventually.

Now five years had passed since he had left Konoha, Jiraiya and Itachi had informed him that he would be returning to attend the final year of the Ninja academy with others his age. If anyone would compare the six year old boy who left and the one at eleven years old they would see a drastic change.

Over the years Naruto had tried to emulate Itachi in ways...at least on missions,he was still a bundle of energy and you would rarely see him without a foxy grin on his face. But he was skilled in controlling his emotions Itachi had made sure of this, because in time's of emotional duress the Kyūbi had more power over Naruto. Itachi said Naruto was able to flip a switch and turn his "Ninja Mode" on and off something that all shinobi had to learn to do if they where to last as a ninja.

Naruto ceased his reflection as he donned his metal breast plate not unlike those in the Hokage's Anbu would wear,over a blue long sleeve shit. Over his black pants he strapped on metal shin guards and on his feet he slipped on his blue shinobi sandals. He turned around to his dresser and took the Ninjato that laid on it and strapped it diagonally across his back.

He looked in the mirror and say a blond boy look back. His bangs fell on either side of his face down to his jaw, framing his face between them. He had eyes of two different colors one blue and one black, upon each tanned cheek he had three whisker like marks, he smiled at himself before turning to the door. 'I'll show you how much I've grown Itachi Sensei' he swore to himself as he left his home to battle with Itachi as teacher and student for the last time.

XxX

(Konohagakure Hokage Office)

Hiruzen looked over the paperwork on his desk listing his current troop and supply numbers. Since the death of the Fourth Hokage eleven years ago Hiruzen had been recruiting ninja candidates from age six to sixteen within all of Fire country trying to get their numbers to acceptable levels. Konoha has always prided themselves with its quality ninja and teamwork, but a single man no matter how strong cannot fight an army.

But Konoha was regaining its strength and allies. Little over four years ago the Kirigakure bloodline troops with Konoha's help had succeeded in ending the civil war in Kirigakure. Now they had no money troubles thanks to their secret treaty with Kirigakure, which promised military and economic aid should they need it along with various trade routs and rights.

The assassination attempt on Yagura went better then any could of hoped. The man was inside his largest and most well guarded base, which turned out to be most fortunate after killing him. Because the Three Tailed Sanbi broke free from the seal and wreaked havoc destroying the base along with many of the Mizukage's most loyal Shinobi. Soon after that the war had ended and Mei Terumi was named the Godaime Mizukage.

Once elected the female Mizukage had taken to recruiting all throughout the land of water. Both the Kage's agreed to split recruiting rights within land of waves after working out a treaty with the wave Daimyō that consisted of little more then protection and trade rights along the killing a local tyrant. A man named Gato who was a very rich and dirty man. He covered his shady business dealings with legitimate looking organizations. And it proved effective for a while until it got in the way of two major ninja village's.

Konoha now had over ten thousand active duty Shinobi and Kunoichi within its wall's not counting the number of Root Danzo had under his command which last checked was just over five hundred. That was the highest quantity of Ninja Konoha had since before the Third Great Shinobi War, but he knew that every one of them would be needed. Kumogakure had never demilitarized since the Third Great Shinobi War and word was Iwagakure had been paying shinobi mercenary groups to do some of their work while they recruited and trained.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not survived all three Great Shinobi War's and lead his way through two of them without developing a six sense for danger. And he could feel it in his bones, war was on the horizon but he knew Konoha was just about as prepared as they could be.

'It would be foolish to attack Konoha now' Hiruzen reasoned to himself. Even though the alliance between Kiri and Konoha had been kept under wraps, their alliance with Sunagakure was well known and well established.' Though the wind Daimyō has been sending Konoha its fair share of missions' the Third thought to himself.

Hiruzen was cut from his thought's by a knock on his office door "Enter" he said. The door opened to show his long estranged son, with surprise was clear in his voice he asked "Ah Asuma, good to see you."

The large man took a puff of his cigarette "Hey dad, my duty as one of the Daimyō's twelve guardians has come to an end, I'd like to reinstate myself as a Ninja of Konoha." Sarutobi noted that he seemed somewhat embarrassed...not that he cared.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair his heart lighter then it had been in years "Very well...I will gather the necessary paper work, be here at twelve tomorrow."

Asuma gave a slight bow "All right ill see you then pops" he said as turned to leave "And its good to see you again, the village look's great" Where the parting words of the newly reinstated Jonin of Konoha. Hiruzen took another draw from his pipe 'yes a good day indeed'.

XxX

(Somewhere in Forest Country)

Naruto inhaled the sweet morning air as he stood across the forest clearing from his teacher Itachi Uchiha. Their outfit's where very similar though they had one major difference. Itachi's black Konohagakure Hitaiate on his head. "This will be my last test for you Naruto kun, I want you to show me your full strength if I think you are holding back I will destroy you." Naruto nodded barely withheld a snort him hold back against Itachi, as if. Naruto feel into his a Taijutsu stance and he saw Itachi mirror his own, they stared at each other before both rushing in.

Naruto led with a quick one two combo followed up with kick to his teacher's head, Itachi blocked all these with ease and countered with a strait punch to Naruto's solar plexus. Naruto quickly fell into a backhand spring using it as an escape and an attempt to kick Itachi. They both disengaged before rushing back in, Naruto opened up with one of his favorite techniques "Konoha Senpū (Leaf Whirlwind)"Naruto roared.

The high roundhouse quickly followed by a powerful sweep was expertly evaded by the Uchiha prodigy who counter attacked with a low kick of his own. The blow caught Naruto in his right side forcing him to roll with the blow before quickly getting back to his feet. Naruto knew he was outclassed so he quickly activated his Sharingan and drew his Ninjato from his back.

He wasn't the least bit put off when Itachi did not activate his own Sharingan. Naruto charged forward with a powerful series of thrust's from his sword, each of which was dodged by the Uchiha at a hair's breath. Itachi pulled out his own sword and they met in a series of clash's that had Naruto's bones groaning, his eleven year old body not being able to handle the strength of the eighteen year old Itachi.

So when the next clash of blade's happened Naruto concentrated his secondary affinity into his blade. Lightning crackled and Itachi was forced to drop his sword from the mild electric shock that traveled down his blade from Naruto's. Naruto took advantage of this opening and rushed in, he was met with the sound of inhaled breath "Shit" he cursed before he used a one handed seal to replace himself with a nearby log.

Naruto sheathed his sword and made another hand seal, one Naruto became ten. Seven of which disappeared into various parts of the surrounding forest. The two Clones still with Naruto charged Itachi who just finished setting ablaze Naruto's replacement with a Katon:Gōkakyū (Great Fireball).

While Naruto's clones met a quick end at the hands of Itachi, Naruto was charging Raiton chakra into his hands that where currently placed in front of his mouth. He dashed towards Itachi through his blind spot and let loose a torrent of water from his mouth. "Raiton:Kangekiha (Wave of Inspiration).

Naruto called out as his electrified water wave hit Itachi in the back,his victory was short lived as "Itachi" turned into a flock of crow's.

The displacement of air alerted Naruto to replace himself with one of the clones that was strategically placed in the nearby tree's. He followed the trajectory of the Shuriken that ended his clones life, jumped from his tree perch and threw five Lightning charged Shuriken at the top of a nearby tree. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin (Shuriken Shadow Clone)"He muttered mid fall and five Shuriken became fifty tearing the tree to piece's.

He once more had to escape death via lobotomy with the king of ninja techniques Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement Technique) There on the ground where Naruto would have landed was Itachi sticking his clone in the back of its cranium with a kunai. Instead of going in himself he sent a mental command to one of his nearby clones who dove from a tree behind Itachi,after a quick string of hand seals it exhaled

"Suiton: Teppodama (Water Bullet) The attack was was neatly dodged by Itachi who them proceeded to dispatch the mid air clone with a single thrown kunai.

Three more of Naruto's clones shot form the tree's surrounding Itachi kunai drawn, They all shot forward and when they got near the true Naruto smirked "Bunshin Daibakuha (Exploding Clone)"

All three clones erupted in a massive explosion. But it obviously wasn't enough as Naruto jumped out of his tree into the clearing dodging a "Suiton: Zessenzan (War of Worlds Decapitation)".

The sharpened water...beam chopped the tree in two and Naruto was quickly on the defensive from the quick and powerful strikes Itachi was throwing at him It was all he could do to hold off the vicious assault from Itachi as his remaining clones tried to aid him in making space. He felt a subtle genjutsu try to make its way into his system but he pushed it off before going through a string of hand seals slamming his fist's to the ground. "Suiton:Bakusui Shōha (Exploding Water Shock Wave)" he shouted and a massive wave of water shot from the ground in front of him and was met with Itachi's call "Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)" the powerful tri sided fire dragon attack met head on with the massive wave's of water.

Just as Naruto's water overcame Itachi's Fire Dragon he felt a incoming Shunshin (Body Flicker) He saw Itachi's elbow coming at his face thanks to his Sharingan. He extended his right arm quickly and felt it connect but it wasn't enough, he heard Itachi call out Konoha Kaiganshō: (Leaf Rock Destroying Rise)" and felt the vicious elbow connect with his jaw he was quickly knocked unconscious.

Itachi smiled as he caught Naruto in his arms before laying him down on the forest floor. Naruto had proved to have grown more then Itachi had thought before that battle, giving everything he could. He even managed to land a hit on him even though Itachi had not used his Sharingan it was impressive. Itachi took off his Hitaiate, lifting Naruto's head he tied it on Naruto's a sign that he was worthy of being a Ninja of Konohagakure no Sato.

XxX

Naruto's eye's popped open and he sat up in his bed...'wait bed' he turned to the right and saw Itachi sitting at the table by the window reading. Naruto heaved a sigh "I didn't even get to walk back inside after our final fight." Then he felt something on his forehead and quickly reached up and touched it, feeling cold metal he untied the Hitaiate and looked at it. With a smile that made the sun look cold he said "Well looks like I passed anyway,thanks Itachi Sensei."

Itachi sat his book down "No need to thank me Naruto, you did better then I hoped." A smirk appeared on Itachi's face "Hows you jaw Naruto kun" he asked innocently. Naruto noticed the throbbing in his jaw and had to resist the urge to rub it.

"Its fine you know how quick my body heals I wont even notice it by the end of the hour." Naruto replied not acknowledging Itachi's small boast.

"Glad to hear it" a second voice rumbled as a large man entered the room.

"Kyoufu your here already?" Naruto questioned.

The toad sage nodded his head "Yea we gotta leave soon, Sarutobi Sensei wants use there by tomorrow" Naruto and Itachi both nodded, they where prepared to part way's both had been packed since yesterday, already use to leaving one place for another.

Itachi grabbed his scroll's containing his belonging's and walked over to Naruto, he pulled his hand back and poked him in the middle of his forehead. "I'll see you again Naruto kun...and keep on eye on Sasuke for me." Naruto nodded his head solemnly for two different reasons. Itachi waved them goodbye "I'll have to go look up this Akatsuki" he said to himself before exiting the house for good.

Naruto finished sealing his armor and sword into separate scroll's and quickly pocketing the rest before turning to Jiraiya "How long will it take us to get from here to Konoha" he asked.

Jiraiya put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and guided his out of the house. "If we go full speed we can make it their before nightfall" Naruto nodded his head.

"All right it'll be good to see the Old man again, and I'll be going to the Academy huh" he said with humor "Ill have to think of it as a vacation."

Jiraiya laughed as they shot off into the tree's "Yea it will be, but I'm sure you'll enjoy having friend's you own age for once eh."

Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgment "Yea that does sound good" he said with a smile.

* * *

><p>Authors Notes:<p>

If you feel like it please review it give's me the inspiration I need to continue writing.

The Hiruzen/Danzo relationship will be a bit different in this, Danzo wont actively fight Hiruzen's decisions and Hiruzen wont condemn Danzo for some of his more dark plots.

I took away Tsunade's fear of blood, I always found it silly. It only mattered for the Sannin fight and then she overcame it with pure willpower in less then Ten minutes.

The number of Shinobi in Konohagakure is based off of the amount of Ninja and Samurai combined in the Allied Shinobi Forces...which is around Eighty Thousand. Of course I'm assuming there are more then twice as many Samurai in the land of Iron then there are ninja in even the largest of the Great Five Ninja Villages.

Credit for Suiton: Zessenzan (War of Worlds Decapitation) goes to The Pro, i just borrowed it...hope thats ok.


End file.
